Roslindale man named one of Boston's safest drivers

Tuesday

Feb 7, 2017 at 7:00 AM

Julie M. Cohen jcohen@wickedlocal.com

Driving in Boston has always been challenging, especially due to the often confusing, sometimes frightening way the streets have been laid out. Many even believe the urban myth that the roadways were paved over old cow paths. To acknowledge those who have mastered the rules of the road, Mayor Marty Walsh recently celebrated the four best Boston drivers, including two from the Parkway, for “practicing safe driving habits in the city.”

The Boston's Safest Driver Competition kicked off in early October and was based on a Smartphone app that scored drivers on behaviors associated with safer driving, according to the mayor’s office. The initiative was designed to engage the public in Boston's Vision Zero effort to improve traffic safety and eliminate fatalities from traffic crashes in Boston by 2030.

The best drivers included two Parkway residents: First-place winner and West Roxbury resident Deirdre Manning, who was awarded a $2,000 prize and third-place winner and Roslindale resident Robert Majovski, who was awarded $500.

The second-place winner was Dorchester resident Eric Robinson, who was awarded $1,000 and the Metro Boston first-place winner was Weymouth resident Brian Mazzoli with $1,000.

Another 98 high scoring participants have been awarded over $3,000 in cash prizes.

The app scored drivers between 0 and 100 based on five measurements, including speeding and phone use. Nearly 5,000 people participated in the competition. Dramatic reductions in phone use and speeding by competitors were recorded, with 1,100 competitors seeing their phone distraction drop by 47 percent and their speeding drop by almost 35 percent. The app recorded over 190,000 trips taken by participants who represented 99 communities in Metro Boston as well as all of Boston's neighborhoods.

The Transcript spoke with 37-year-old Roslindale resident Robert Majovski, a scientific advisor at a biomedical research institute in Kendall Square, about his recent win.

What made you decide to participate in the Boston’s Safest Driver Competition?

After reading a little about it and downloading the app, it felt like a great challenge to actually put my driving habits to the test and find out, using the metrics that the app collects, how safe a driver I actually am. Plus my wife urged me to participate. She correctly predicted at the start that I could be one of the winners.

Did you consider yourself a good driver before participating in the contest? Why or why not?

I did already consider myself a safe driver. I have previously lived in one of the snow belts of the Great Lakes, so I've driven regularly in some pretty terrible road conditions, which is great experience for sharpening your driving skills.

What do you think of drivers in the Parkway and where are the most problematic / challenging places to drive in the Parkway?

Drivers in our neighborhood are a bit better than other parts of Boston. I think our strong community means that people are less likely to be aggressive on the road, when it could be their neighbor sharing the road with them.

One spot that is always tricky is the rotary where Arborway and Centre Street meet. It's never been clear why traffic from both Centre Street and Arborway are allowed to enter the circle to head toward JP up Centre or toward Forest Hills down Arborway. At rush hour, it's amazing there aren't more collisions.

What do you wish all Boston drivers would do to improve their safety?

To make fewer assumptions. For example, drivers who speed make the assumption that the road ahead of them is clear and will remain clear. In the city, this can never be assumed to be true - a pedestrian dressed in dark clothing at night in the rain might jaywalk, or a car might suddenly pull out from behind a parked vehicle. They may not have allowed themselves the reaction time that they need to avoid sudden obstacles.

More information

Information on the Boston's Safest Driver Competition may be found at https://www.boston.gov/transportation/bostons-safest-driver-competition.

Information on the City of Boston's Vision Zero policy may be found at www.visionzeroboston.org.